Nearly 21,000 strong came to the Madhouse on Madison to see the Chicago Blackhawks continue their defense of Lord Stanley’s Cup against Western Conference rival Los Angeles Kings.  The Blackhawks have been a bit sluggish as of late playing ten games in seventeen days and losing their last two.  The Kings on the other hand have been playing well, winning five of their last six and leading the Pacific Division with twelve points.  Joel Quenneville continued to experiment with the lines, placing Jack Skille on the first line with Jonathan Toews and red-hot Patrick Sharp and the struggling Patrick Kane on the third line.  Captain Toews backed his coach’s decision saying, “I think it’s always a good thing to shake up the lines and get a different look.”

The few days off did the home team well as they came out with fresh legs and an aggressive forecheck.  “It was huge to have those days off.  We wanted to start establishing consistency in our game,” center Jake Dowell said.  A nifty little Pisani steal and pass set up the first score of the game as aforementioned rookie Jake Dowell went top shelf on the backhand over Kings goalie Jonathan Bernier to notch the first goal of his young career.  The youngster had this to say afterward, “Obviously it’s not my job all the time.  Whenever I can chip in at a good time, that’s a plus.”

Four minutes later Justin Williams knotted it up with his third goal of the season also going top shelf over Marty Turco.  The first penalty of the game would come with five minutes left in the first on a Marian Hossa hooking call.  The shots would come fast and furious from the Los Angeles power play unit.  They had Turco on his back rolling post to post for a majority of the power play.  He would deny everything and would draw a rousing ovation from the Madhouse crowd.  The first period would come to a close with both teams tied at one and both playing a fairly even game.  The Hawks would suffer a blow as Marian Hossa had to leave the game with what was later described as an upper body injury.

Viktor Stalberg and the home team would waste no time going back on the attack.  Stalberg put a rebound in the back of the net just over a minute into the second for his third goal of the year.  Marty Turco and Jonathan Bernier would engage in a game of anything you can do, I can do better for the duration of the game with the former coming out victorious.  As Coach Quenneville described it, “They were looking for the jam and Marty was very strong.”

The blazing hot Patrick Sharp would put one past Bernier with just over two minutes left in the game to put the Hawks up three to one and ensure a victory.  Duncan Keith notched his second assist of the night and Sharp’s goal gives him nine on the year.

“It’s about time we played hockey the right way.  It wasn’t pretty but we got pucks out of dangerous areas and kept them off the score sheet in the third period,” said Toews.

Neither team played pretty, but the prettier team put two points in the point column.  With Stalberg and Dowell scoring it was reminiscent of last year’s Stanley Cup run.  The “secondary” guys stepped up when the first line guys couldn’t hit the net.  “Whether you get a short-handed goal or contributions from guys that don’t have a lot of production, you find a way you’re going to be successful,” Quenneville said after the game. 

The contributions need to keep on coming especially with Hossa now sidelined for an undetermined amount of time.  Chicago once again starts a new win streak before Edmonton comes to town Friday.